William Frederickson
William Frederickson is commander of the 3rd Fallschirmjager Regiment, also known at The Fighting Third, the elite of the Prussian Armed Forces. Twice decorated with the Iron Cross, he is a celebrated war hero who joined in the ranks. Unmarried at the age of 45, he is considered something of a catch by the single ladies of the Empire. He currently resides in Wewelsburg, Prussia with his two German Shepards, Thor and Loki. His only direct relative is his older brother Captain Kurt Frederickson, Commander of the Prussian battleship Bismarck. Early Life and Career William was born on August 11th, 1935 in Keiv, Prussia. At the age of 16 he joined the Reichswehr as a private and was assigned to the 9th Light Armour. He initially struggled in the armed forces, finding it hard to accept the leadership of men he considered stupid or useless. After several disciplinary hearings he was on the verge of the being court martialed when Colonel Franz Bauer of the newly formed 1st Fallschirmjager Regiment offered to take the young man into his regiment. The Fallschirmjager turned out to be the very thing Frederickson needed to thrive. The Fallschirmjager troopers were a new idea, clever, quick thinking men who could operate with minor supervision and fight as part of a unit or alone if needed. He quickly worked his way up through the ranks until he was promoted to Sergeant at the age of 25. In 1960 he applied for a transfer to the officer core and was shortly thereafter commissioned as a Fallschirmjager Leutant. Several minor actions led to his promotion to Oberleutent and command of his own platoon. Like many other men in an elite unit he found himself chaffing at the bit for a fight an, in 1970, the French obliged him. Military Career on the Rise Franco - Prussian War 1970, French and Prussian tensions over the Alsace-Lorraine finally come to a head and in the early hours of June 2nd the first shots are fired. Running skirmishes soon turned into full on bloody warfare and Frederickson found himself deployed, along with unit, by air drop behind enemy lines. Poor intelligence on the jump zone however led to the company commander being killed while still floating to earth and the majority of the unit far from where it needed to be. The young Oberleutant rallied the scattered troops he could and led them twenty miles through enemy held territory undetected. They managed to take their target in a rear charge and hold it against no less than six French counter attacks until Prussian armoured elements broke through to relieve them For his actions William would be promoted and awarded the Iron Cross, First Class. European Coalition The European Coalition against Ethiopia would be a campaign of frustration for the new commander of 4th Platoon. The unit, now considered one of the best in the Prussian army, was held in reserve and ended up being ordered into the fight five times only to be withdrawn and deployed to another location. William and 4th Platoon would not actually see any action until near the end of the conflict where they were sent in to cover the retreat of other Prussian units. The inaction and misuse of his unit led William to complain bitterly to his Colonel and almost resign. Swiss - Prussian War If William had missed out on the action in Ethiopia he had no such illusions about his role in the Swiss War. His unit was deployed almost immediatly to wage war with Swiss Alpine Troops in the beautiful desolation of the Alps. Here, amid the towering peaks, the elite of the two nations fought savage actions where the wounded froze to death and the dead vanished beneath newly fallen snow. Despite the bitter cold and feriuce enemy resistance, 4th Platoon was able to capture two major Swiss airfields and bunker installations, effectively preventing the destruction of the train tunnels that would allow Prussian troops into the country. William was awarded a second Iron Cross during this conflict for scaling the face of a glacier alone and under fire to attack a Swiss machine gun that his men pinned down. Three enemy soldiers were killed and a dozen taken prisoner. A week later the regiments Oberst was killed, along with his second in command, when a Swiss shell fell on the unit Forward OP. William was promoted on the battlefield to the position of Oberst. He was now to command the finest fighting machine in the world. Denmark Incident The Denmark incident happened so quickly it almost escaped notice and The Fighting Third played a crucial role. The unit was called up and deployed within 24 hours, dropping straight into the heart of Copenhagen and taking the Socialist government prisoner within hours. Few shots were fired and William was surprised to find many of the Danes happy to be rid of the socialist yoke. Since then the Oberst has recruited a number of Danes into his regiment, finding them to be solid and reliable troops of the "Sturdy Norse type" who serve him gladly, proud to be part of such an elite fighting force, Current Posting With the tensions around the Ottoman Empire at the boiling point Oberst Frederickson and his men are deployed in Turkey, shoring up their allies low morale and even worse fighting spirit. Personal Life William has always been a very private person outside the military though he is known to keep company with some of the more beautiful women of Prussia. There have been numerous rumours in newspapers of his marriage but none have ever been proven. For the most part he follows a rigorous workout schedule, enjoys outdoor sports, and spends most of his time training the men udner his command. Category:Characters